You were so great in LA. Your basic building blocks are good (seeds, grains, fruit, brown sugar, crumble), so this should have worked out. But the at-home execution was a sad mess. All anyone wanted from a muffin was a domed top and crunchy crumble, and you just wouldn’t deliver.

I mean, maybe I was running too hot, and it was all my fault. One never knows with my oven these days. But still, I’m tempted to blame your sugar overload and the addition of sixteen trendy included grains. Not enough substance to hold all the goodness together.

Anyway, you still tasted like the way everyone wishes that hippie muffin from the co-op would taste, and this picture gets me every time, so

no regrets,

L

Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

Adapted from Huckleberry

For the crumble:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or regular)

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon raw millet

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon flax seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the muffins:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tablespoons almond flour

1 tablespoon oat flour

1 tablespoon raw millet

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon flax seeds

1 tablespoon old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a muffin tin with 12 liners.

To make the crumble, combine all ingredients and blend with your fingertips until homogenous. Set aside in the fridge.

To make the muffins, whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, whisking together until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Fill the muffin cups almost to the top, then sprinkle with the reserved crumble. Bake for 20 minutes, until the muffins are browned and spring back slightly when touched.

If you like this cheese plate setup, you’ll definitely like the rest of TAPESTRY Magazine. Check them out at www.the-tapestry.com. I spent one delectable afternoon with the wind in my hair and cheese in my belly, learning about the vision for the mag and holding flowers for the camera. The whole things was such a great reminder that Jesus came to earth so that we might have ABUNDANT LIFE. He actually said that. It’s the BEST.

Lauren

P.S. I think the first ever print edition is out. You can find me within MAYBE.

I’ve made a lot of chocolate zucchini baked things, kind of like the rest of America making chocolate zucchini bread and only chocolate zucchini bread with the leftover squash from August.

I think Americans do the chocolate thing because it masks the green. It’s not like it has this massive zucchini flavor that needs to be fudged. If you were to make a green vanilla cake, your conditioned mind would be thinking, “This tastes like Nickelodeon slime!” So zucchini never gets baked into anything but chocolate. It’s true colors are hidden for the sake of your visual-taste-brain connection.So bright, so right.

Almonds for texture. These babies needed the crunch because they were actually like liquid fudge, and I didn’t even underbake them. Ultra moist like these fail volcano brownies. I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE, ZUCC. I CAN TELL. “There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” In life, and in the kitchen.

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with Silpat.

Melt butter and chocolate chips in microwave whisking at 30-second intervals until smooth. Stir in both sugars and cocoa powder until combined. Add yogurt and vanilla. Stir in flour, soda, and salt, if using, until smooth and then add the zucchini, stirring until incorporated (mixture will be thick).

Using a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, drop onto prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle a few slivered almonds on top of each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool on sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Grease a 8×8-inch square baking pan with butter and set aside.

In a small bowl, make the filling by mixing together sugars, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Use your hands to break the fat cutes into the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat lightly with a fork. Add the liquid to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll dough to a little less than 1/2-inch thickness, about 12 inches long and 10 inches tall. Brush biscuit dough with melted butter. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar filling, peaches and almonds. Begin to carefully roll one vertical side into a fairly tight roll. Continue rolling until you have a biscuit cylinder.

Using floss, slice into 9 logs, about 1 inch thick. Place rolls in prepared pan. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until slightly golden brown on top. Let cool somewhat, then top with cream cheese icing.

If I needed three reasons to go to Colorado, it was the hiking and the peaches and the friends. Got all of those in spades this time around. I figured all of my wildest vacation dreams were going to be fulfilled even without the peaches part, but we passed a farmer’s market stand on the way back from the airport, and my suspicions were confirmed: This will be the funnest vacation, and THERE IS NOTHING FOR IT BUT TO CRUMBLE.

So you can find the crumble recipe below after you stop drooling over the mountain pics. It is gluten-free because my friend is eating gluten-free, and it is from the Harry Potter cookbook because we’re in the Harry Potter nostalgia generation.

This is like, 1/20 of all the beautiful pictures I could share, but our hearts can only take so much, ya dig?

Digging,

L

Almond Flour Plum Crumble

Heavily adapted from the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

4 ripe peaches, plums or combination

cornstarch, for sprinkling

1 cup almond flour

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup old fashioned oats

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup powdered sugar

Mix together in a food processor all ingredients, except for the butter, until thoroughly combined. Cut the cold butter into a small dice and add the pieces into the food processor with the dry crumble mixture. Pulse until butter has incorporated and the texture of the mixture resembles clumpy, wet sand. Sprinkle the crumb mixture into the dish in an even layer on top of the rhubarb. Place in 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes or until rhubarb is bubbly and topping is golden.

Slice the stone fruit into medium chunks and layer evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch dish. Sprinkle with a little cornstarch.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, mixing with fingers until homogenous. Sprinkle over the fruit.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.